A new post in the Playstation.com forums has revealed scans of PSM magazine and new details regarding Sony's PS3 console and the plans for its online and multimedia capabilities. The new details indicate that Sony has decided to turn up the heat on Microsoft with a service that will go that one step further than XBox Live.
The new PS3 online service, according to the magazine, will be called PlayStation Network and will offer the usual matchmaking and rankings lists but will also offer an iTunes style store that will allow you to download movies and music to your console which you will then be able to upload to your PSP.
Another new, previously unannounced, feature is the exciting prospect of using your PS3 console as a digital video recorder (DVR) much like a TiVo device. You will also be able to control aspects of the DVR function from your PSP.
Another question, apparently answered by the new information on PSM, has to do with the effect the Blu-Ray drive will have on the console's price tag. The version of Blu-Ray that PS3 will use will rely heavily on the Cell processor and nVidia's RSX and will, in that respect, not be a stand-alone Blu-Ray player. As a result Sony has managed to keep the price of using Blu-ray at a minimum.
The other PS3 news is mainly information on how much better than initially thought, Sony's console is performing and we are informed that the final PS3 dev kits are running faster than predicted. We are also told that there are many more PS3 games in development than most people think but that may have to do with the fact that PSM states that the console is expected to release in the U.S. sometime in fall 2006, a date that most people did not expect.
The possible change of PS3 launch dates, something MG suggested last month, and the latest stream of positive PS3 information suggests that the Japanese giant may be feeling the pressure of the competition. Only recently a Sony Online Entertainment employee was fired for criticizing Sony's new console and for suggesting that other colleagues believe X360 to be a more capable machine. It is certain that Microsoft will have been handed a gift from Sony should the PS3 launch be delayed but we will have to wait until E3, 2006 before we can confirm any such news, even if PSM says it is so.